CN114514736A

CN114514736A - System for cleaning the front window of a camera housing of at least one monitoring camera unit

Info

Publication number: CN114514736A
Application number: CN202080070807.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: D·达美尔
Original assignee: Dallmeier Electronic & CoKg GmbH
Current assignee: Dallmeier Electronic & CoKg GmbH
Priority date: 2019-11-05
Filing date: 2020-09-28
Publication date: 2022-05-17
Also published as: DE202019106142U1; CA3155435A1; US20220407999A1; KR20220045207A; JP2022551890A; WO2021089241A1; AU2020380505A1; EP4055810A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for cleaning the front window of a camera housing of at least one multisensor camera unit, having at least one multisensor camera unit having a camera housing with a front window, at least one supply unit for supplying a gaseous cleaning medium being provided, said supply unit being connected via at least one supply line to at least one nozzle unit assigned to the front window of the camera housing, and said at least one nozzle unit being designed to load the outer surface of the front window with the gaseous cleaning medium supplied by the supply unit via the supply line. A plurality of nozzle units are provided, the nozzle units forming one or more purge nozzle rows. At least one or more nozzle units are at least partially accommodated in the camera housing and embedded in a front frame of the camera housing, which frame surrounds the front window, wherein the supply unit is designed to supply the gaseous cleaning medium to the plurality of monitoring camera units.

Description

System for cleaning the front window of a camera housing of at least one monitoring camera unit

Technical Field

The invention relates to a system for cleaning the front window of a camera housing of at least one monitoring camera unit according to the preamble of claim 1.

Background

In professional video surveillance areas of larger surveillance areas, there are high demands on the resolution of the details of the detected video data. The video surveillance devices used for this purpose have a plurality of surveillance cameras which are designed in particular for video surveillance of various surveillance areas.

The monitoring camera unit has a preferably closed camera housing in which the camera itself and its components and/or assemblies are received. The camera housing has at least one front window made of a transparent material, preferably glass or plastic, through which the monitored area can be detected by a camera accommodated in the camera housing, i.e. a picture of the monitored area can be produced by means of the camera. Such camera windows disadvantageously suffer from contamination of the respective installation site depending on the camera. For example, there can be contamination of the camera window by water drops, dust, quicksand or spider webs, by which the quality of the photographic subject, in particular of the video photographic subject, is adversely affected.

Systems for cleaning the front window of a camera housing are already known, which have at least one wiper unit, by means of which the outer surface of the camera window can be cleaned by means of one or more wipers. In this case, mechanical wear of the wiper or wiper blade, which requires replacement and thereby additionally increases the maintenance costs of the monitoring camera, often disadvantageously occurs. In addition, when the surface of the camera window is contaminated with fixed dirt particles, damage to the window surface can also occur disadvantageously via the wiper or wiper blade.

Video surveillance cameras with improved detail resolution, which have a plurality of image sensor units, are also known. Such a camera is also referred to as a multi-sensor camera unit. The camera head of such a multi-sensor camera unit has a plurality of image sensor units, wherein one image sensor unit has in each case one objective and an associated image sensor, which preferably form a structural unit. The cameras of the multi-sensor camera unit scan different, generally slightly overlapping solid angle ranges of the monitored area with their image sensor units. Such a multi-sensor camera unit thus offers the advantage that a large solid angle can be detected at a relatively high resolution (unit: pixels/meter in distance x) with respect to the location of the monitored area based on the entirety of the image content of all image sensor units. Different manufacturers have provided such multi-sensor camera units with multiple image sensor units generating their image content. The image sensor units are here also accommodated in a common camera housing with a front window which is subject to normal contamination.

Disclosure of Invention

Starting from the prior art shown, the object of the invention is to provide a system for cleaning the front window of a camera housing of at least one monitoring camera unit, which enables a simple, reliable and low-maintenance cleaning of the front window of the monitoring camera unit. This object is achieved by the features of the characterizing portion of claim 1, starting from the features of the preamble.

An important aspect of the system according to the invention for cleaning the front window of the camera housing of at least one monitoring camera unit is that at least one supply unit for supplying a cleaning medium is provided, which is connected via at least one supply line to at least one nozzle unit assigned to the front window of the camera housing, wherein the at least one nozzle unit is designed to load the outer surface of the front window with the cleaning medium supplied by the supply unit via the supply line. By loading the front window with the cleaning medium, a simple, reliable and maintenance-free cleaning of the front window is possible. The supply unit may also advantageously be arranged for supplying the decontamination medium to a plurality of monitoring camera units.

Furthermore, the front window is advantageously made of glass or transparent plastic. The cleaning medium and the nozzle unit are advantageously adapted to the material used for the front window.

Particularly advantageously, the at least one purification unit is designed to release the purification medium in the form of a purification medium jet. By the jet-like release of the cleaning medium onto the outer surface of the front window, a planar cleaning thereof is possible. Furthermore, dirt particles adhering to the front window can be effectively removed thereby.

In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of nozzle units is provided, preferably forming one or more purge nozzle rows. The nozzle unit is here at least partially received in or embedded in the camera housing. Particularly preferably, the nozzle unit can be embedded in a front frame of the camera housing, which frame surrounds the front window in a frame-like manner. By providing a plurality of nozzle units, a wide front window can also be cleaned quickly, efficiently and reliably.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the purification medium is gaseous. The gaseous purification medium can be compressed air, for example. The gaseous cleaning medium, in particular compressed air, has the advantage that the cleaning medium does not leave cleaning tracks on the front window, but rather entrains dirt particles together in the compressed air flow. Advantageously, the at least one nozzle unit is then formed by at least one compressed air nozzle unit and the supply line is formed by a compressed air line.

Furthermore, the monitoring camera unit is advantageously formed by a video monitoring camera, in particular a multi-sensor camera unit. Especially in a plurality of image sensor units within a camera housing, an effective cleaning of the front window is mandatory in order to ensure a sufficiently high image quality.

In an advantageous embodiment, the supply unit has at least one storage tank for receiving a gaseous purification medium. In addition, a control unit and at least one switching valve can be provided in the supply unit, by means of which control unit and at least one switching valve the transport of the gaseous purification medium into the storage tank and/or from the storage tank into the supply line can be controlled.

The nozzle unit is preferably arranged relative to the front window such that the cleaning medium impinges on the front window at an optimum angle or an obtuse angle. The angle of incidence is selected to achieve optimal decontamination. It is also possible, if a plurality of nozzle units are provided, to arrange them such that the respectively generated cleaning medium jets impinge on the outer surface of the front window at different angles. This is particularly advantageous, since even and effective cleaning of large surfaces is also possible.

The loading of the outer surface of the front window can also be designed to be remotely controllable, and more precisely, for example, by corresponding actuation of the supply unit via a control system connected to the center.

Further configurations, advantages and possibilities of use of the invention result from the following description of an exemplary embodiment and from the drawings. All features illustrated and/or described diagrammatically in this document are subject matter of the invention in themselves or in any combination, independently of their relationship in the claims or in the citation of the claims. The content of the claims also forms part of the description.

Drawings

The invention is further explained by way of example with the aid of the accompanying drawings. Wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a system according to the invention for decontaminating the front window of a camera housing of a surveillance camera unit;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic functional circuit diagram of a system according to the invention for decontaminating the front window of a camera housing of a surveillance camera unit; and

fig. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of a system according to the invention with a plurality of monitoring camera units.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a system 1 according to the invention with at least one monitoring camera unit 2 and at least one supply unit 3, the monitoring camera unit 2 having a camera housing 4 with at least one front window 5. The system 1 according to the invention forms a front window 5 for cleaning the camera housing 3 of the at least one monitoring camera unit 2.

The monitoring camera unit 2 is preferably formed by a video monitoring camera which is designed to acquire an image capture of a monitored area. The monitoring camera unit 2 is preferably realized in the form of a multi-sensor camera unit having a plurality of image sensor units (not shown in the figures) which are accommodated in the camera housing 4, wherein the image sensor units have in each case at least one objective and an associated image sensor which preferably form a structural unit. Such multi-sensor camera units scan different, generally slightly overlapping solid angle ranges of the monitored area with their image sensor units, wherein at least one of the image sensor units can also be provided for detecting the entire monitored area. Based on the entirety of the images detected by the different image sensor units, a large detection angle is generated, which enables recording of high-resolution video data (unit: pixels/meter in distance x). Of course, however, the invention is suitable for cleaning the front window 5 of a monitoring camera unit 2 of any configuration without thereby departing from the inventive idea.

The front window 5 of the camera housing is made of glass or transparent plastic, for example, and is preferably received in an end-side opening in the camera housing 4.

The at least one supply unit 3 is provided for supplying the cleaning medium RM, wherein the supply unit is preferably spatially separated from the monitoring camera unit 2, for example, at a distributed location. For example, the supply unit 3 can be designed to supply the cleaning medium RM to a plurality of

monitoring camera units

2, 2a, 2b, 2c, as will be explained further below with reference to an example of an embodiment variant according to fig. 3.

Professional video surveillance systems for video surveillance of large surveillance areas often have a plurality of such

surveillance camera units

2, 2a, 2b, 2c which are designed in particular for video surveillance of various surveillance areas and are subject to various evasive influences depending on the range of use.

In order to provide the cleaning medium RM to the at least one monitoring camera unit 2 or more precisely to the front window 5 of the camera housing 4 of the at least one monitoring camera unit 2, a nozzle unit 6 is assigned to the at least one front window 5 of the camera housing 4, which nozzle unit is connected to the supply unit 3 by means of at least one supply line 7. The nozzle unit 6 may here be at least partially received in the camera housing 4 or embedded therein. Alternatively, the at least one nozzle unit 6 can also be connected to the front of the camera housing and/or arranged at a distance therefrom, and more precisely arranged such that the nozzle unit 6 is oriented for loading the front window 5 of the camera housing 4 with the cleaning medium RM.

In fig. 1, the nozzle unit 6 is indicated by a symbol marked with a dotted line. In the present embodiment, the nozzle unit is fitted in a front frame of the camera housing 4, which frame surrounds the front window 5. The at least one nozzle unit 6 is designed here to load the outer surface of the front window 5 with a cleaning medium RM supplied from the supply unit 3 via a supply line 7. For this purpose, the cleaning medium RM is preferably applied to the surface of the front window 5 in a wide-area manner by means of the nozzle unit 6 in order to remove existing contaminants of the front window 5. For example, contaminants such as water drops, dust, quicksand and/or spider webs of the front window 5 can be removed quickly and easily by means of the cleaning medium RM.

It is particularly preferred to subject the outer surface of the front window 5 to a load by means of a cleaning medium jet RMS generated by the nozzle unit 6, which is incident on the outer surface of the front window 5, for example at an obtuse angle or at an optimized angle, and thereby entrains dirt particles located thereon and removes them from the front window 5. In the case of a plurality of

nozzle units

6, 6a, 6b, 6c, the cleaning medium jets RMS generated by the nozzle units can also have different angles of incidence, in order thereby to additionally increase the cleaning action, in particular to remove dirt uniformly over a large area.

The use of a gaseous cleaning medium RM is preferred, wherein the use of compressed air for cleaning the front window 5 of the monitoring camera unit 2 is particularly preferred. Correspondingly, the nozzle unit 6 is then formed by a compressed air nozzle unit and the supply line 7 is realized as a compressed air line. The supply line 7 is furthermore realized, for example, in the form of a hose.

In order to provide a gaseous cleaning medium RM, in particular compressed air, the supply unit 3 has at least one storage tank 3.1 for receiving the gaseous cleaning medium RM, which is received in a preferably switch cabinet-like housing.

Furthermore, a control unit 3.2 and at least one first and second switching valve 3.3, 3.4 are provided in the supply unit 3 or its switch-cabinet-like housing, by means of which control unit and the at least one first and second switching valve the transport of the gaseous purging medium RM into the storage tank 3.1 and from the storage tank into the supply line 7 is controlled. For this purpose, the gaseous purging medium RM is preferably supplied to the storage tank 3.1 by the first switching valve 3.3 in a controlled manner at a predetermined pressure by an external supply device, i.e., after opening the first switching valve 3.3, the storage tank 3.1 is filled with the gaseous purging medium RM, wherein the supply takes place already at the predetermined pressure. The first switching valve 3.3 connects the external delivery device to the storage tank 3.1. The supply line 7 is in turn connected to the storage tank 3.1 via a second switching valve 3.4. In the storage tank 3.1, a supply of the gaseous purging medium RM can be formed under pressure, which is preferably determined such that it is sufficient for a plurality of purging cycles.

For example, the storage tank 3.1 is filled with compressed air or compressed air at approximately 6 to 10 bar, preferably 8 bar. The purification medium RM stored under pressure in the storage tank 3.1 is then released controllably to the supply line 7 by the control unit 3.2. The release may be performed, for example, for predetermined time intervals and/or shocks or in pulses.

The control unit 3.2 of the supply unit 7 can also be connected to a higher-level control system of the monitoring device via a data interface, for example via an ethernet interface. Remote control of the purification system 1 according to the invention can furthermore be achieved by a superordinate control system. The control of the release can be performed, for example, by means of the second switching valve 3.4. For this purpose, as shown in fig. 2, the control unit 3.2 is connected to both the first switching valve and the second switching valves 3.3, 3.4.

According to the embodiment variant shown in fig. 2, a plurality of

nozzle units

6, 6a, 6b, 6c, which are preferably arranged along a row and thus form a purge nozzle row, are arranged in the camera housing 4 of the surveillance camera 2. The rows of purge nozzles here extend along the edge of the front window 5. For example, first to

fourth nozzle units

6, 6a, 6b, 6c are provided, which are supplied with the purging medium RM via a common supply line 7. The first to

fourth nozzle units

6, 6a, 6b, 6c may be again received or molded into the front frame of the camera housing 4. Of course, almost any number of

nozzle units

6, 6a, 6b, 6c may be arranged in one or more rows without thereby departing from the inventive idea. For example, between 4 and 12 nozzle units 6 in the camera housing 4 of the monitoring camera 2 can also be provided for cleaning the front window 5.

Fig. 3 also shows a further embodiment variant of the system 1 according to the invention with a plurality of

monitoring camera units

2, 2a, 2b, 2c, which are each connected to the supply unit 3 via a

separate supply line

7, 7a, 7b, 7 c. The

monitoring camera units

2, 2a, 2b, 2c are each supplied with the purging medium RM separately from one another via a

respective supply line

7, 7a, 7b, 7c, and preferably in series one after the other. The effective length of the

supply lines

7, 7a, 7b, 7c may be, for example, up to 10 m.

The present invention has been described in the foregoing by way of examples. Of course, numerous variations and modifications are possible without thereby departing from the inventive concept on which the invention is based.

List of reference numerals

1 System

2. 2a, 2b, 2c monitoring camera unit

3 supply unit

4. 4a, 4b, 4c camera casing

5. 5a, 5b, 5c front window

6. 6a, 6b, 6c nozzle unit

7. 7a, 7b, 7c supply line

RM purification media

RMS cleaning media jet

Claims

1. System (1) for cleaning a front window (5) of a camera housing (4) of at least one multisensor camera unit (2), having at least one multisensor camera unit (2) comprising a camera housing (4) with a front window (5), wherein at least one supply unit (3) for supplying a gaseous cleaning medium (RM) is provided, which is connected by means of at least one supply line (7) to at least one nozzle unit (6) assigned to the front window (5) of the camera housing (4), and wherein the at least one nozzle unit (6) is designed to load an outer surface of the front window (5) with the gaseous cleaning medium (RM) supplied by the supply unit (3) via the supply line (7), characterized in that a plurality of nozzle units (6, 6a, 6 b) are provided, 6c) The nozzle units form one or more purge nozzle rows, at least one or more nozzle units (6, 6a, 6b, 6c) are at least partially received in the camera housing (4) and embedded in a front frame of the camera housing (4), which frame surrounds the front window (5) in a frame-like manner, and the supply unit (3) is provided for supplying a gaseous purge medium (RM) to the plurality of monitoring camera units (2, 2a, 2b, 2 c).

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the front window (5) is made of glass or transparent plastic.

3. System according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the at least one purification unit (6) is constructed for releasing the purification medium (RM) in the form of a purification medium jet (RMS).

4. System according to claim 1, characterized in that said gaseous purification medium (RM) is compressed air.

5. System according to claim 4, characterized in that the at least one nozzle unit (6, 6a, 6b, 6c) is formed by at least one compressed air nozzle unit (6, 6a, 6b, 6c) and the supply line (7) is formed by a compressed air line.

6. System according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the supply unit (3) has at least one storage tank (3.1) for receiving the gaseous purification medium (RM).

7. System according to claim 6, characterized in that a control unit (3.2) and at least one switching valve (3.3, 3.4) are provided in the supply unit (3), by means of which control unit and at least one switching valve the delivery of the gaseous purification medium (RM) into the storage tank (3.1) and/or from the storage tank (3.1) into the supply line (7) can be controlled.

8. System according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the nozzle unit (6) is arranged relative to the front window (5) such that the purging medium (RM) is incident on the front window (5) at an obtuse angle.

9. System according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the loading of the external surface of the front window (5) with the cleaning medium (RM) can be controlled remotely.